MGA Expands Suspicious Betting Rules, Includes Suppliers

In efforts to limit the impact of fraudulent betting practices, Malta’s Gaming Authority has released an October 1 update to its suspicious betting rules. The new rules will now also apply to suppliers.

Malta’s New Regulations Apply to Suppliers

The previous rules of the MGA required betting operators to report any suspicious betting they come across and alert the regulative body. With the new update now, “both licensees that offer a gaming service and/or a critical gaming supply relating to betting on sports events must notify the Authority of any instance relating to suspicious betting”, meaning that suppliers are now included in the equation.

This will put extra responsibility in the hands of suppliers, who were previously exempt from this rule. With the gambling regulations changed, licensees will now have to be extra diligent in not letting any instances of gambling fraud slip. 

The MGA added that the Sports Betting Integrity department has already started reporting any suspicious betting activities it encounters. The MGA refused to reveal its information sources, likely for security reasons.

“Without revealing the source of the information, the Authority started informing its licensees of any instances of suspicious betting activity in relation to any event that has been adverted by such,” the official release states.

A Move to Benefit Maltese Gambling

According to the MGA, the new alerting process will help operators and regulators alike as it will help monitor for irregularities and limit the impact of gambling malpractices and reduce the damage they cause.

Operators who are licensed by the MGA will be kept updated on any suspicious betting activities known within the MGA’s radar. Operators will be therefore able to check their own monitoring systems and see if they have similar fraud attempts on their platforms.

The renewed rules will benefit the MGA as it will have a wider reach when checking for fraud. The regulative body will be able to form a holistic review and evaluation of the sports betting risks that endanger the sector and will therefore be able to mitigate them.

Most importantly, the new rules will increase the overall awareness of the suspicious acts within the gambling sector and will allow the MGA and the operators to work closely together to fight against them and ensure a healthy betting ecosystem.

The MGA reminded all interested parties to continuously refer to the Guidance Paper on the Suspicious Betting Reporting Requirements & Other Sports Integrity Matters to get more information about the regulator’s actions against illegal gambling practices.

The gaming regulator concluded by saying that anyone who is interested to learn more about MGA’s work is free to contact it by email.